Author: Administrador

Y Bonesteele photo By Y Bonesteele On May 3, the United States government increased the annual refugee admissions cap from the historically low 15,000 to 62,500, with the goal of 125,000 for the following year. As the body of Christ, how are we to respond to refugees currently in our communities or those soon to … Continue reading “Christians and “the Other”: Why We’re Called to Care”

Julian Hochgesang photo – Unsplash By Aaron Earls Less than half of Americans say they belong to a house of worship, marking the first time, since Gallup began collecting data in 1937, a majority aren’t part of a church, synagogue, or mosque. Religious membership was stable throughout the 20th century but fell from 70% in … Continue reading “Church Membership Is Falling, But What About the Sky?”

cottonbro photo – Pexels By Charles Holmes There is a lot of talk about how churches can retain young people. Many student ministries around the country took a major pause in their activities to respond to safety protocols and health concerns due to the pandemic. Colleges had to shut down and send their students home, … Continue reading “3 Crises Churches Must Address to Reach the Next Generation”

AaronAmat photo – Getty How to Make Sharing the Gospel a Stress-Free Part of Your Life By Lynn Pryor If there was guilt meter in the average church, some of us may see it spike whenever the pastor raised one of these topics: Giving Helping in the nursery Sharing our faith In a 2016 study, Lifeway … Continue reading “Evangelism Without the Angst”

AntonioGuillem photo – Getty By Daniel Darling That day, seemingly impossible to see just a few months ago, seems to be here. In America, COVID restrictions are slowing falling. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is issuing new guidelines. Major departments stores and restaurant chains are easing up on their mask requirements. And churches … Continue reading “Your Neighbor Is Not a Virus”

HRAUN photo – Getty By Y Bonesteele In college, I had an accountability partner. Our college ministry encouraged us to help each other grow in our faith, “spurring one another on towards love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24). Whether we knew how to do that or not, and whether we did it the right way … Continue reading “Accountability: From Buzzword to Bad Word and Back Again”

ThisisEngineering RAEng photo – Unsplash By Jason Thacker Just as the shutdowns began in March 2020 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, I distinctly remember tweeting how encouraging it was to see a number of pastors and ministry leaders jumping on social media to update their people on church gatherings and to encourage them in … Continue reading “Balancing Our Uneasy Relationship with Technology After the Pandemic”

John-Mark Smith photo – Pexels By Aaron Earls Emerging from the pandemic, more Americans say they are reading the Bible, but few consistently engage with God’s Word on a regular basis. The latest State of the Bible report from the American Bible Society finds that 181 million Americans opened a Bible in the past year—up … Continue reading “More Americans Are Reading the Bible. Now What?”

fizkes photo – Getty By Ken Braddy I visited a local restaurant at the invitation of a friend in ministry. He sent me a text and invited me to join him for what he promised to be a great lunch—both food quality and service—at a place he’d discovered. I was intrigued and said yes. The … Continue reading “The Top Reason People Attend Bible Study Groups”

mrkwaniesam photo – photopin By Aaron Earls COVID-19 revealed unknown strengths of many congregations, but the pandemic also exposed some significant issues among churchgoers. As churches innovated new ways to reach members and attendees explored new discipleship practices, worrisome isolationist tendencies appeared among some churchgoers. Pandemic isolation Thinking about the duration of the coronavirus pandemic … Continue reading “The Most Troubling Fact COVID Revealed About Churchgoers—And How to Fix It”